Thursday, September 23, 2010

Anthony Kim, Y.E. Yang Headline OneAsia’s Kolon Korea Open

Cheonan, September 23, 2010: PGA Tour star Anthony Kim will make his OneAsia debut when he competes in next month’s Kolon Korea Open, which will be held at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, south of Seoul, from October 7-10.

Y.E. Yang, Asia's first Major winner who has won two titles on the PGA Tour, will also compete in the 53rd edition of the prestigious event, which offers a purse of KRW1 billion.

Kim will be a popular draw as the 25-year-old Korean American sensation bids to win the event for the first time after finishing joint third in 2008 behind champion Bae Sang-moon, who also won last year, and Ian Poulter.

Kim, the world number 19, won his third PGA Tour title at the Shell Houston Open in April and finished third at the Masters the following week, but was out of action for three months following thumb surgery in May.

"Although my condition is not great after my thumb injury, I definitely want to win the Kolon Korea Open as it’s the country’s biggest tournament. I regret I only finished in a share of third two years ago," said Kim, who gained global attention for playing a starring role in the USA's Ryder Cup victory in 2008.

Yang, 38, will be bidding for his second Kolon Korea Open title following his win in 2006 and also gunning for a second OneAsia win after his impressive victory in April's Volvo China Open.

"The Korea Open is an unforgettable tournament for me," said Yang, who won last year's PGA Championship to become the first Asia-born winner of a Major.

"I won the 49th Korea Open in 2006 and that helped me qualify for the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where I beat Tiger Woods to win the tournament. That changed my life," added the Texas-based father of three, the current world number 40.

Other star attractions include Danny Lee, the 20-year-old Korea-born New Zealander who won last year's Johnnie Walker Classic as an amateur.

The Kolon Korea Open attracts a strong field and past champions include former world number one Vijay Singh (2007), two-time Major winner John Daly (2003), Spaniard Sergio Garcia (2002) and Korean legend K.J. Choi (1996, 1999), a seven-time PGA Tour winner.

The Kolon Korea Open is the seventh tournament on this year's OneAsia schedule and will be followed by the Midea China Classic in Shunde from October 14-17. The 2010 OneAsia season will conclude with the Australian Open (December 2-5) and PGA Championship of Australia (December 9-12).

The Kolon Korea Open will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.

Full coverage of the event will be available on SBS Golf Channel, ESPN Star Sports, Jupiter Golf Network, Fox International, Network Ten, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 & America One in the USA, ViaSat & Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.

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